Snippet #2660452

Dhaxi put down his piece of bread first and wiped his mouth of crumbs with the napkin. Beyond the chirping birds, he could hear the subdued voices of the city beyond the walls of his home.

Phrina noticed her companion had paused, her expression softened, "Something troubles you."

She waited for a response, but knowing Dhaxi, he would not reply with frankness about such feelings. He had always been contained when it came to his emotions and anxieties.

"It is about the boy, is it not?"

Dhaxi inhaled deep and exhaled, "Yes, he is a great fighter. One of the best I have had in years."

"And what of Gythos, Balphon?"

"The boy is as skilled as they are, but he lacks what they have. Submission. Every now and then he defies me, never in the open, but I sense the discontentment boiling beneath."

"Ah, his independent streak..." Phrina scooped some of the onions and yogurt into her mouth.

"The boy's stubbornness confounds me, Mazha. At every moment that I try to instill into him the notion that he will NEVER leave the arenas, he..." Dhaxi paused.

Phrina chuckled before she took a bite of the tomatoes that had soaked in olive oil.

"I don't understand. He has been a slave longer than he has been a freeman. And yet..."

Phrina swallowed her last bite, "Perhaps it is the will of Oelne."

Dhaxi dismissed the notion with a wave, "Mazha you can't possibly expect me to buy that."

"No, you never buy anything I sell, I've come to expect that."

"Mazha..."

"I don't own gladiators, so I know not of your struggles."

"You jest, Mazha. Owning gladiators is like owning any other servant, except their duty is to fight," as Dhaxi said this another servant took the emptied basket of bread and replaced it with one full of piping hot buns of rich brown that were soft to the touch.

Phrina took a bun as soon as the servant left, "What do you want me to do?"

Dhaxi leaned in, "I want you to set him up for a fight with one of Kail's fighters."

Phrina stopped, her eyes beamed quizzical in his direction.

The slavemaster whispered, "The lion perhaps. They've grown too fond for my comfort."

Then she cleared her throat and said, "The boy is not ready for him, but mayhaps the Tlamani girl would suffice? She shouldn't be too much trouble for him?"

"Very well, can you draw it up for tomorrow?"

Phrina wiped her mouth and stood up, "I can make arrangements. Lunch was pleasant, a bit too mild for my tastes."

"A better one can still be found Dhaxi," she smiled, gave a polite curtsy that signaled her departure and she left through the hanging beads.